Produced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports of Korea & Tourism and Gugak FM

Supported by Liverpool University and Korean Cultural Centre, UK

There & Now is an exquisite evening of concerts providing a journey through the past and present of Korean music with four extraordinary Korean musicians: CHOI Jin and KIM Woong-sik with a traditional repertoire for string and percussion; and a young female duo, Su:m’s PARK Ji-ha and SEO Jung-min with new compositions for string and wind. CHOI, a master soloist on the ancient string instrument the gayageum, provides a timeless quality of Korean sound, tender and soulful, accompanied by KIM’s dynamic percussion on the Janggu. PARK and SEO of Su:m won Gugak FM’s 21st Korean Music Award in 2009 for their experimental new compositions that bring traditional and contemporary expression and aesthetics together.

The concert is followed by a workshop, ‘Exploring Korean Musicality’ at The University of Liverpool on 12 November and a workshop and performance, ‘Korean Music in the 21st Century: In Search of Its Future’ at The Bluecoat on 14 November.

CHOI Jin (Gayageum, 12-stringed zither): Trained with the master artists of Korean traditional music, who are also known as ‘Human Treasures’, CHOI is specializing in sanjo (a solo instrumental genre) and gayageum byeongchang (voice with zither accompaniment). As a soloist she won numerous awards in various Korean music competitions including the President Award (Gran Prix) at Kimhae National Gugak Competition and the Best Instrumental Artist Award at the 3rd Korean National Gugak Competition.

KIM, Woong-Sik (Janggu, hourglass drum): Kim Woong-Sik is considered to be the most versatile drummer and accompanist in Korea. He was a percussionist in the KBS Tradition Music Orchestra and is also a founding member of the Korean contemporary percussion ensemble Puri formed in 1993.

Su:m (piri, bamboo oboe; saenghwang, mouth organ; yanggeum, dulcimer; 25-stringed gayageum zither; metal-stringed gayageum zither):This young female duo, Park Ji-Ha and Seo Jung-Min, is the winner of the ‘Experimental Award’ at the 21st Century Korean Music Project Competition in 2009 for their groundbreaking new composition, ‘Mirror Ego II’, the mesmerizing instrumental piece for wind and string.

Gugak FMGugak FM is the Korean national radio channel for traditional Korean music. Since 2009, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Sports, Gugak FM has presented the 21st century Korean music series to nurture the future creators of traditional Korean music by offering them the opportunity to perform with Korean music masters across the globe. This year, the tour concerts are held in St George’s Hall ( Liverpool), RASA(Utrecht), Zuiderpershuis (Antwerp) and Maison des cultures du monde (Paris). (www.gugakfm.com